christyreads83's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
klambson's review against another edition
5.0
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I don't typically read a lot of non-fiction, and in fact only picked this up because of book club, but it was a good time. My main takeaway was that I want a tou knife, though.
minty's review
3.0
What a perfect companion to Bill Bryson's At Home. It just delved more deeply into the kitchen technologies. I loved the ancient history included, and how the book was NOT solely interested in recounting the history of food as originating in Europe/England. There was a lot of attention paid to Asia and the traditions that exist there. (Though scant details from Africa or South America.) Thoroughly enjoyable.
Particularly loved the reader's use of different accents when reading quotes from others--for some reason, I really liked her American accent!
Listened at 1.8x speed.
Particularly loved the reader's use of different accents when reading quotes from others--for some reason, I really liked her American accent!
Listened at 1.8x speed.
bhsmith's review against another edition
3.0
It has come to this: there is so much food writing out there that I just read a book about the history of the fork. It might be time to take a step back and examine where to go next with this genre.
To Bee Wilson's credit, the book was meticulously researched and provided a clear path from the earliest of cooking/eating tools all the way through to the modern conveniences we so enjoy. The bulk of the book reads like a history book: rather dry and factual with not a lot of flavor. In each chapter there were times when Wilson would break out of the historian's soliloquies to actually remind us she was human by sharing fun personal anecdotes or intriguing stories of real people and how they cook or use tools. These stories were too few and far between to make the book read like the food writing I enjoy the most (start with Michael Pollan and go from there).
Now, there were plenty of interesting tidbits and facts to learn while reading this book. So while my overall impression is not glowing, I did find myself at dinner just last night telling a couple stories about chopsticks that I learned while reading Wilson's book. If you're looking to impress dinner guests with your knowledge of cooking tools through the ages, then this is certainly a book you'd like to read. I'm sure little nuggets of knowledge will continue to impress and annoy my dinner companions for the next few months, which is fine by me.
To Bee Wilson's credit, the book was meticulously researched and provided a clear path from the earliest of cooking/eating tools all the way through to the modern conveniences we so enjoy. The bulk of the book reads like a history book: rather dry and factual with not a lot of flavor. In each chapter there were times when Wilson would break out of the historian's soliloquies to actually remind us she was human by sharing fun personal anecdotes or intriguing stories of real people and how they cook or use tools. These stories were too few and far between to make the book read like the food writing I enjoy the most (start with Michael Pollan and go from there).
Now, there were plenty of interesting tidbits and facts to learn while reading this book. So while my overall impression is not glowing, I did find myself at dinner just last night telling a couple stories about chopsticks that I learned while reading Wilson's book. If you're looking to impress dinner guests with your knowledge of cooking tools through the ages, then this is certainly a book you'd like to read. I'm sure little nuggets of knowledge will continue to impress and annoy my dinner companions for the next few months, which is fine by me.
setauuta's review against another edition
4.0
There is a lot of fascinating information in this book. A little dry at times, but overall, a really interesting look at the basics of kitchenware.
megancrews's review against another edition
3.0
This book is really well researched and written, but I still zoned out for large chunks of it. Wilson makes some great observations about society, technology, humanity and food. I would tell anyone to read the Introduction as well as the chapter on the fork and refrigeration.
I thought it was a good point that with new technology something is gained but something is lost. It was exciting when we got to eat tomatoes all year round, but it doesn't mean they are worth eating all year round.
The chapter on the refrigerator is short but great. Wilson states that the idea of the refrigeration this method of cooling food is so deeply American, which I had not thought about before. I love her bit about how we constantly open the refrigerator door and stare in for some kind of answer about what we should be doing at that moment or maybe even with our lives.
There were plenty of historical factoids that absolutely blew my mind, like the amount of time the average American woman is spending in the kitchen has not changed since the 1920s?! How is this possible?!
Overall, it is worth skimming.
I thought it was a good point that with new technology something is gained but something is lost. It was exciting when we got to eat tomatoes all year round, but it doesn't mean they are worth eating all year round.
The chapter on the refrigerator is short but great. Wilson states that the idea of the refrigeration this method of cooling food is so deeply American, which I had not thought about before. I love her bit about how we constantly open the refrigerator door and stare in for some kind of answer about what we should be doing at that moment or maybe even with our lives.
There were plenty of historical factoids that absolutely blew my mind, like the amount of time the average American woman is spending in the kitchen has not changed since the 1920s?! How is this possible?!
Overall, it is worth skimming.